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NBA Picks

NBA Picks for Knicks vs. Magic

If it’s a day that ends with a Y, the New
York Knicks must have some injuries to worry about. The worst basketball
betting team in the East could be missing four players for Monday’s matchup
with the Orlando Magic.

Making fun of New York is a national
pastime. Check that, an international pastime. Few people outside the Big Apple
care to have teams like the Yankees, Knicks, Jets and Rangers shoved down their
throats. So when those teams start to lose games, it’s a party. Even the locals
can’t help it – they love to kick losers while they’re down. Maybe it’s the
lack of sunlight and 32-ounce sodas.

The least loveable losers right now are the
Knicks (8-18 SU, 9-17 ATS). They’re also the least profitable team in the
Eastern Conference. And while things are looking up now that center Tyson
Chandler (18.4 PER) has returned to the lineup, New York still has four injured
players going into Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic (8-19 SU, 13-14
ATS). The early NBA betting lines have Orlando laying 1.5 points at home.

The most important injured player at the
moment is PG Ray Felton (11.6 PER), who missed the last two weeks with a
bothersome hamstring injury that has cut dramatically into his effectiveness.
ESPN’s Ian Begley tweeted on Sunday that Felton is nearing a return and will
“give it a go” during Monday’s shootaround to see if he can play against
Orlando. If he can’t, well, that’s a problem for the Knicks. Last week, PG Pablo
Prigioni (13.6 PER) suffered a hairline fracture to his right big toe, and he’s
not expected back for another week or so. That leaves the defensively
challenged Beno Udrih (12.0 PER) as New York’s starting point guard.

Not that Felton is going to solve all the
Knicks’ problems when he does return. The former North Carolina Tar Heel has
been an object of derision ever since the Charlotte Bobcats (uh-oh) picked him
fifth overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, one spot after Chris Paul. Felton’s crime:
Being an average point guard. He’s got some playmaking skills, but he’s not a
great shooter (33.2 percent lifetime from downtown), and on any given day,
Felton is one artisanal breakfast burrito away from eating himself out of the
league.

Visualize
World Peace

New York’s situation in the paint has
improved tremendously with Chandler returning to health, but that improvement
is mitigated by the latest injury to PF Kenyon Martin (13.8 PER). He strained
his abdomen last week and isn’t likely to see the court again until 2014. It’s
a lousy development for a team that could use a lot more attitude down low.
Martin (7.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.6 blocks per 36
minutes) can’t score the way he used to, but he’s doing all the glue-guy things
that every NBA team needs.

The Knicks were hoping for similar
contributions when they signed SF Metta World Peace (12.7 PER) on the cheap
after he was amnestied by the Los Angeles Lakers. But his performance has been
limited by a sore left knee that has already been drained twice this season,
and Newsday is reporting that World Peace might undergo another procedure that
will force him out of Monday’s matchup (7:00 p.m. ET).

As I said in my recent rant
about injuries, it’s folly these days to bet on the NBA when you don’t know
who’s playing and who isn’t. The Knicks are certainly strong fade candidates in
general, and I’m recommending that play in advance, but you might feel
differently if Felton and World Peace are able to play against a Magic team
that’s 4-9 ATS at home this year. It’s a hard way to make an easy living.